


National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

by thestanceyg



Series: Darcy Lewis April Challenge [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Café, F/M, Fluff, writing challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 20:28:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3663891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestanceyg/pseuds/thestanceyg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just when Darcy thought she would never see her favorite soldier again, he walks in through the doors of her cafe-PB&Just About Everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

**Author's Note:**

> Day 2!  
> Today I picked National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day (represented by the cafe) and this AU prompt: I come to this café pretty much every day after work and by now you know my order by heart and even wave at me when I come in.

PB & Just About Everything was possibly the most ridiculous cafe Sam had ever been to.  But once he started going, he couldn’t stop.  It was a combination of things, really.  First and foremost was the amazing sandwiches.  He liked to believe that he would never come back if that wasn’t the case, but, secondly, he came in every day to see the chef and owner, Darcy.  She was fun and flirty, and absolutely made him feel like she could only see him when they talked.  Whenever he came in, she would look up, flash a full, bright smile, look him up and down, and then call out her guess at his order.  She was always right, even when that wasn’t what he had initially come in thinking about.  She had some insane ability to read in him things he hadn’t even noticed yet.  Once she had declared his order, she’d get straight to work, and they would make small talk while she put together his sandwich behind the tall glass barrier.  

He loved watching her work.  She was precise in her movements, but then would get wrapped up in whatever they were discussing and wave her hands to emphasize a point.  And every time she would look at her hands like the had betrayed her, and a blush would redden her ears, and her hands would get back to work.

But then “shit had gone down,” as she said.  She didn’t like to talk about “that bad SHIELD business,” which was curious to him until he found her name in the info dump.  He desperately wanted to hear her tell the story of tasing Thor, but her eyes always seemed to get watery whenever she talked about New Mexico.  He had made the mistake of asking her about a framed photo of her and a thin woman and an older man, squinting smiles while the sun beat down on what appeared to be a desert.

_“Hey,” he asked, nodding his head toward the picture, “where was that taken?”_

_“Which…,” she started to ask, turning to the wall.  “Oh.  That,” she replied.  Her voice a bit softer than before.  “New Mexico.  I spent a summer in the desert chasing the night sky with those crazy scientists for a few science credits.”_

_He noted the change in her temperament, but pushed a little more.  “Looks like you all were really happy.”_

_“We were,” she said wistfully._

_“They still in the Land of Enchantment?”_

_She smiled at the reference.  “No, there was London for a bit. That was an interesting time, but now we’re all scattered.”  She handed him his plate.  “I hope you enjoy your Fried Peanut Butter Pregnancy,” she said, closing off all further conversation._

It was just a short two weeks after that conversation that “events happened.”  (She was very good at speaking in euphemisms.)  He stopped by the shop before he was set to head out with Steve, only to find that the shop had been damaged and was closed for repairs.  He had wanted to tell her that he would be gone for a while.  Felt like he owed it to her even though they had never done more than have those little chats.  Looked like that wasn’t an option.

That was nearly six months ago.

Now he was staring in front of PB & Just About Everything, taking in the new facade.  He had worried that she wouldn’t be able to reopen, that repairs would have cost too much, that he wouldn’t have a way of finding her again.  Seemed like luck was on his side.  He pushed the door open, and her head popped up at the tinkle of the bell.

“My, my, my,” she said, blowing out a breath.  “Didn’t think I would see you again, soldier.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve had some things to take care of.”

“You have, haven’t you?” She replied, tilting her head a bit, looking him up and down again.  Assessment complete, she added, “I think All I Carrot About is Peanut Butter today.”

He smiled.  “You know that’s a favorite.  It’s always welcome.”

She hummed a bit.  “That’s good to know,” she said absently while a new cashier rung him up and he went to watch her work.

“Is everything complete now, or will you be gone some more?” she queried.

“Not complete, but back to home base for now.  Looking for some new leads.” She nodded, eyes down on her work.  He decided to try to poke at the elephant they seemed to be dancing around.  “Done lots of reading, but there’s plenty more to do.”

Her head shot up and her eyes narrowed at him, examining his face, then, mollified by what she saw, softened a bit.  “Read anything interesting?”

“Read a ton of stuff I thought was only in fiction before all this.”

She snorted, eyes back on his sandwich.  “Imagine living it.”

“I think I can a little bit.  Well, at least now I think I can.”

She smiled to herself and then looked him directly in the eye, almost challenging him.  “We should compare notes sometime.”

His face broke into a wide smile.  “When do you get off?”

She snickered, then turned deep red and dropped her eyes down.  “I’ve missed you.  Missed this.”  It was almost so soft he missed it.

“Yeah, me too.”

She handed him him his plate.  “We close at 9.  I stay and do all the night chores.  Come by and I’ll make you dinner.  I can even make something without peanut butter or jelly if you like.”

He smiled.  “Consider it a date.”

***

Nine o’clock came with Darcy ushering the last patron out the door to see Sam leaning against the building.

“Well hello there,” she flirted, “What’s a fella like you doing at a joint like this?”

“Just looking for a good meal and even better conversation.”

Her face lit up in delight that he was playing along.

“Did I ever tell you about the time I tased Thor?”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! If you have an idea you'd like to see me tackle during the April challenge, shoot me a message either in the comments or on tumblr (where I use the same name). I've got about 10 days semi figured out, so I'm open to suggestions!


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